02
May
2014
|
18:51
Europe/London

Fire strike - May 2, 3 & 4

Friday 2 May

Oxfordshire County Council's Fire and Rescue Service had 20 of its 34 fire engines available during the strike period on 2 May.

The service received one 999 call during the strike - to a fire alarm in Headington, Oxford.

Saturday 3 May

As national strike action got underway on Saturday 3 May at 2pm, Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service had 20 fire engines available.

A total of six emergency calls were taken during the 12-hour strike . Two were due to false alarms triggered by cooking fumes at Singletree sheltered housing in Rose Hill, Oxford and at the Betjeman Court sheltered housing complex in Wantage.

Firefighters went to Oxford's John Radcliffe Hospital to be on hand to assist a child who had been airlifted there after an incident involving a railing in Hungerford, Berkshire, however no action was required.

The remaining three incidents were: a false alarm caused by smoke from birthday candles at New Beveridge House in Oxford; a small fire involving newspaper at the rear of some flats in Bretch Hill, Banbury and a false alarm due to controlled burning at Field Farm, Witney Road, Crawley.

Sunday 4 May

As national strike action got underway on Sunday 4 May for five hours from 10am, Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue Service had 20 fire engines available.

Four calls were received during the period of industrial action.

Officers assisted two Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service crews who attended a fatal accident involving one vehicle on the southbound M40 between junctions 12 and 11. The vehicle had three people in it and one person was pronounced dead at the scene.

Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service normally respond to incidents on the stretch of road in the first instance on any day due to their stations' closer proximity in terms of travel distance to it.

Thames Valley Police is investigating the cause of the accident.

Oxfordshire firefighters also went to Chilbridge Road, Eynsham where a woman had fallen eight feet from a bridge into a brook, however on arrival, the woman was out of the water. Officers assisted the work of paramedics.

The remaining two call-outs were to a false alarm caused by cooking fumes in a property in Kingston Road, Oxford and to a residence in West Street, Banbury where a mobility scooter was emitting smoke.

Information about local contingency plans that were in place

Information about the contingency plans that were in place in Oxfordshire during the strikes can be found here.

The strikes were called by the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) over a dispute with central government about pension reforms.